Car-floor construction.



W. FOWLER, SR. GAB FLOOR CONSTRUCTION. APPLIOATION FILED SEPT. 1e,' 1912 Patented May 27, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEE'T'I.

W. E. FOWLER, SR.

GAR FLOOR CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.16, 1912 Patented May 27, 1913.

' 2 SHEE -SHEET 2 ficat ion. v My invention relates to' railWay-cars,-and" UNI ED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM E. FOWLER, SR, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIs, ASSIGNOR TO THE FOWLER can COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINoIs, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

CAR-FLOOR CONSTRUCTION.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May at, 1913.,

Application filed September 16, 1912. Serial No. 720,550.

anduiseful Improvements in Car-Floor Confollowing is a specif structions, of which the has particular reference novel floor and under-frame construction therefor.

The type of ear to which the present invention particularly applies is best shown in my earlier Patent No. 962,425, that is, a box-car without interior framing composed of boards placed edge on edge, these boards being bolted or otherwise secured to a metal exterior. frame-work, the car having only a single sheath, this-sheath being placed inside of the' framing as to sides, ends, and floor. The floor construction of such a car is an important point, and I have found in practice that a floor such as shown' in the accompanying drawings is most suitable. The under-framing remains much the same as found in standard practice, that is, with channel center-sills, body bolsters, cross bearers, the transverse-members being united and a portion of the load car ied by channel side-sills. However, in my construction, I have eliminated floor nailing strips and have provided for maintaining the floor in tight condition through the use of only two rows of bolts, the ends of the floor-boards being held by the side-boards. .The endconst ruc't-ion is so arranged that moisture is excluded without the use of increased nate rialor at added expense.

The invention will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein,

Figurefl is aplan view partly in section showing a half of a car, a portion ot'the floor being removed to show the underiraine construction; F 1g. 2 1s a section on 111181 22 of Fig.1; Fig. 31s a section on line 33 or Fi 1 and Fi 1 is an enlarged sectional 's a n a.

detail of the connecting-means between the floor and side-wall.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, it will be seen that the nnder-frame is composed of channel center-sills 10, channel side-sills 11, end-sill 12, cross-bearers 13, and

body-bolsters 14. Side stakes lo-a nl liago 'box.

completed by top cover-plate Li car-body is to be lifted.

nals 16 extend upwardly ati ntervals forming' thesi-de-frame of the car. The crossbearers, a sfshown in F igLQ, are composed of pressed channel-shaped filling-members f 17 suitably riveted to the channel center-sills,

andsecured-to the channel side sill by means of'angle-plate 18.

plates 19, 20, complete the construct-ion. "It

.Top and bottom coverwill be noted, that the cross-bearers, at a point midway between the channel {centerissto accommodate Z-bars 21.},"Thcse z b'urs,

sill and the channel sidesills, ar'e depressed.

extend from end to end of tl ie -car, beii'ig suitably riveted to the transverse-meinbers The upper leg'of the Z-bars' 12s,

as shown.

slotted at intervals as shown at :32 in Fig. 1,-

whereas the floor-boards 23areaperurred to accommodate bolts. this construction the boards may be moved longitudinally by means of wedges or screws in order to take up any shrinkage which may occur. This is not diilicult of acconiplishlnent, it being required only to loosen the bolts bvmeuns of which the boards are attached to the Z-bars. and after such shrinkage is taken up again tightening the bolts.

' The bodybolstcr, as shown in Fig. composed of two chal'in'ebshaped filling} members 24:, the flanges of both channels extending inwardly and forming in ettect a The fillers are secured to the cen'ier sills and to the channel side-sills, and is,

tom cover-plate 26.

carries a. side-bearing 28 to form abear-bu; tor a jack iu ca'se the The tiller-members 2% are recessed at 29 to accommodate the lower leg of the cluinnelsidc-sil-l 11. This is made necessary by the downw tion of the body-bolster in order t space for the location of the Z-bins I tofore described. By this constr, ion. a continuous Z-bar is provided which reduces expense in assembling: and renders the floor more accessible and more easily re paired.

The ends of the floor-boards 2 are stepped and cooperate with a similar entering and a grain-tight eiie-cted. I consider this an importantadvantage in the floor construction in that; another row 5 vantages are secured that would be present with another fasteninganeans.

The construction described for the con.- nection of the floor and side-Walls is like- Wise followed for the end-Walls.

I amaware that modifications may be made in the construction described, and such modifications as are within the scope of my claims I consider Within the spirit of my invention,

I claim:'

1. In a railway-car, the combination of center-sill's, side-sills, transverse-members having depressed portions, slotted metallic angular, bars seated in said depressed portions and extending from end to end of the car, and floor-members bolted to said angular bars through said slots, substantially as described.

- 2. In a railway-car, the combination of center-sills, side-sills,' and transverse-members having depressed-portions, slotted Z- bars seated in said depressed-portions and extending from end to end of the car, and

of bolts is made unnecessarv and all the adinsane i.

floor-members bolted to saidZ-bars through said slots substantially as described.

In a railway-car, the combination of center-sills, side-sills, and transversemienibers having depressed-portions, a pair of Z-bars resting in. said depressed-portions and extending from end to end of the car, floorboards resting on said center-sills, side-sills, and Z bars, and being positively connected to said Z-ba'rs only, substantially as de scribed. v

4-. In a railway-car, the combination of center-sills and side-sills, transverse-members, angular members seated on said transverse-members and extending from end to end of the car, floor-boards resting on said side-sills and angular members, means for securing said boards to said angular members and a side-wall, said side-Wall having a rabbeted'connection to said-floorboards andvadapted by interlocking engagement to hold said floor-boards in position, substantially as described.

WILLIAM E. FOWLER, SR.

\Vitnesses CHAS. F. MURRAY, ALVAREZ A. BARNES. 

